Little Victories
by RunicSiren
Summary: Their paths have split, but a chance encounter allows Yugi to tell Ryou just how he felt, and to give her the one thing she's always wanted. Yugi/femRyou Seto/femRyou Oneshot


There are times when you have no ideas, and times when your muse decides to flood your brain with them; right now, my muse is doing the latter, which of course means yet another one shot. After I wrote "Touch" I really wanted to explore a little bit more with Yugi/femRyou, so this came about. But, of course, it also features Seto. I can never leave him out. Anyways, if anyone who has read "Touch" notices any parallels with this story it's because I tried to make them run along the same lines.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh, blah blah blah.

Summary: Their paths have split, but a chance encounter allows Yugi to tell Ryou just how he felt, and to give her the one thing she's always wanted. Yugi/femRyou Seto/femRyou

Rating: T

Music: Little Victories, Matt Nathanson

Warning: femRyou

Little Victories

Yugi was lost, that's all there was to it. _'This vacation is doing nothing more than stressing me out,'_ Yugi thought as he wondered the streets of Rome. He'd wanted to get away from the noise of the main tourist areas and ended up walking down a street lined with houses and a few small businesses.

The tinkling of bells and a woman's cheerful laughter reached his ears. He stopped, seeing a small bookstore just across the street. _'Well, they might have a map, and if they don't I can always ask for directions.'_

Crossing the street he opened the door to the shop, the same bell he heard before ringing again. The shop was filled with bookcases overflowing with every kind of book. Yugi saw fantasy, sci-fi, biographies, even a few text books all on the same shelf. _'There's no organization in this place,_' he thought when he saw a stack of books just sitting by the counter._ 'Still, it's a rather nice place, has a welcoming type of feel to it.'_

"I'll be out in just a moment to help you," a woman called from the back room in Italian, a slight accent in her voice.

Yugi was so glad he'd learned Italian before coming on this trip, not that it had kept him from getting lost. He tilted his head slightly at the woman's voice. _'Why does she sound so familiar?'_ That was answered as soon as the woman walked into the room, smiling brightly at him. "Bakura?"

It was her; there was no doubt about that. She wore her hair in a ponytail, strands of hair slipping lose to fall in her face. She was dressed in a pair of light blue jeans, with a white spaghetti strap top on under an almost transparent long sleeved shirt, the light weight fabric rolled up to her elbows. Yugi noticed a pair of black flip-flops resting next to the counter. He took a quick glance at Ryou's feet to see that they were bare.

Her smile faltered, eyes widened slightly. "Yugi?" After a moment the shock left her face, her smile back in place. "Yugi, what're you doing in Rome?"

"Uh," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I was just on vacation, you know, had to get away for awhile."

Ryou laughed softly. "I know exactly what you mean. I came here three years ago on vacation and I still haven't left."

Yugi smiled back at her. "I think Joey and Tristan might come hunt be down if I stayed that long."

Ryou's smile didn't fade, but there was a sorrow in her eyes. "They didn't come with you?"

Yugi shook his head. "Those two are like brothers to me but they're part of what I needed to get away from."

Ryou nodded her understanding. "Yugi." He thought she sounded almost hesitant but when he looked up Ryou's soft smile was in place. "I'm off in a little bit. If you want I can make you some tea and we can catch up."

The tri-colored haired boy nodded, all nervousness lost from his smile. "Definitely!"

/

"So, why'd you leave without telling anyone?" Yugi asked as Ryou placed a tea cup in front of him.

The white haired girl sat down across from the boy, pausing as she took a sip of her tea before answering. "I guess part of it is I just didn't feel like I belonged there anymore."

Yugi gave her a quizzical look as Ryou rested her elbow in the table, her head on her hand. "So what's the other part?"

Ryou looked a bit uncomfortable for a moment. "I…I wanted something I wasn't meant to have. When I realized that I just couldn't stay any longer."

They sat in silence. Yugi knew better to press Ryou for more information. She would answer, but he'd be pushing her away at the same time.

"So what about you?" she finally asked.

"Hm?" Yugi asked, mentally smacking himself. _'Way to form a complete word, Yugi!'_

"How have you been? What happened that made you want to take a break?"

Yugi sighed, shaking his head slightly. "It's stupid, really. Tea and I had been fighting a lot. She wanted to get married, but I wasn't ready. She finally decided that we should take a break from each other. I can't blame her. She's been waiting over four years now." Yugi stared into his half empty tea cup. "I saw her with another man a month after that. Joey and Tristan kept trying to cheer me up, but well…"

Ryou chuckled softly. "It's just that they're Joey and Tristan, right?"

Yugi smiled slightly at her. "Pretty much."

Ryou moved her elbow off the table, placing both hands around her tea cup. "Do you still love her?"

Yugi was taken aback by the question. It was a sensible question, but he didn't know how to answer. _'Do I still love her?'_

"Maybe," Ryou said after taking another sip of tea, "you're feeling this way because you don't know the answer."

"Ryou," Yugi breathed, not knowing what else to do. He could feel himself at the breaking point. There was no going back now. "Have you ever been in love with someone?"

"Yes." She offered no explanations; she knew Yugi was trying to sort through his thoughts.

"I love Tea, I know that. But, there's someone else that I keep imagining myself with, and every time I do I think 'How can I really love her if I'm thinking about another woman? If I truly love her I should be able to give Tea all of me.' I can't do that though, not with these fantasies in my head."

"Yugi." He looked up to see her eyes full of concern. "You're bleeding." He looked down at his hands to see he had smashed the tea cup, a shard of it slicing his hand open.

Yugi didn't notice where Ryou pulled the bandages out from; all he knew was a moment later she was kneeling next to his chair, holding his hand in her own. He just sat there as she cleaned and bandaged the wound. "I think," she said as she secured the bandage, "that you should have a talk with this other woman and sort out what you really feel towards her."

Yugi sat there for a moment, mulling over what Ryou had said. "You're right," he whispered, slipping from his chair to kneel next to her, his lips suddenly upon her's.

He pulled back after a moment, Ryou staring at him in complete shock. "Yugi?"

'_What am I doing?' This is so unlike me. What if Tea finds out?'_ he thought even as he leaned forward, pressing his lips to Ryou's again.

She didn't push him away but she didn't respond either. After a moment he felt her hands on his shoulders, gently pushing on them. Yugi pulled back, unable to look at her, but he knew her head was tilted to one side just slightly. "Yugi, is that really what you want?"

Yugi remained silent and unmoving. "Yugi." Her gentle hand touched his chin, forcing him to face her. "I love you, but I can't give you what Tea can, I can't give you my heart."

Ryou gasped lightly when Yugi suddenly wrapped his arms around her. "Is that what it would be like, Ryou: you would give me everything but the one thing I truly want from you?"

Ryou wrapped her arms around him in return. "Yes," she whispered, Yugi holding her just a little tighter at that word.

Yugi released the breath he didn't even know he'd been holding. It felt as if a heavy load was suddenly gone from his chest. "Ryou, thank you."

They stayed like that for awhile, Yugi needing to cling to Ryou for just a little longer. "Ryou?" She simply 'hm?' to let him know that she was listening. "Who are you in love with?"

He couldn't see her face but he knew she was smiling sadly. "It doesn't matter, Yugi. He was always too high for me to reach."

/

Ryou mumbled to herself as the person standing outside began to beat on her door again. She shuffled sleepily to the door, rubbing sleep out of her eyes with one hand while she opened the door with the other. "Good morning," she yawned, not even looking at the person who had woken her. That all changed when she heard him half snicker, half laugh. It was mocking, but not cruel, and there was only one man who could make that sound. "Seto?"

He stood there with one eyebrow raised, looking slightly amused as he looked down at her. "Are you going to invite me in, or are we going to stand here all day?"

"Ah!" Ryou jumped back, opening the door wider. "I'm sorry! Come in!"

Seto looked around as Ryou ran off into the kitchen. She began making coffee, pulling out a plate of muffins she had made the night before. Seto followed her slowly, unable to hide the slight smirk on his face as he watched Ryou. When she retrieved a coffee mug from the cabinet he sat down at the small table. "Cute pajamas."

Ryou blushed bright red as she looked down at her clothes, letting out a small 'epp' before running off again. While he waited Seto picked up a muffin, taking a bite. It was surprisingly good.

Seto had settled himself comfortably in the kitchen by the time Ryou returned, eating a second muffin, drinking his coffee, and reading a book Ryou had left on the table the night before. Seto smirked once more when she walked in, making the white haired girl blush again.

"Kaiba-san…"

"Seto." She looked up at him, slightly surprised, but he didn't offer an explanation.

"Um, Seto," she said slowly. She'd never said his name in front of him before; she liked it, but at the same time it was a little strange. "Not that I'm not happy to see you, but why are you here?"

"Yugi told Mokuba where you were when he came back from his vacation. After that, my little brother insisted that we come pay you a visit." Seto looked up from the book, meeting Ryou's soft brown eyes. "But, I wanted to come see you before he woke up."

Ryou sat in silence. She felt as if she was about to be scolded. "You could have a least said goodbye to Mokuba. He was extremely upset when you left."

Ryou looked down at her hands. "I'm sorry."

Seto smirked, shutting the book and setting it on the table. "No matter," he said, causing Ryou to look up again, "you won't be running off again."

/

Yugi and Tea looked up in surprise when their front door was suddenly slammed shut. Joey and Tristan ran in, the blond grabbing the remote and turning on the TV. "What are you two doing?" Tea demanded as leaned just inches away from the screen.

"Shh!" they both said, not looking away. Tea was about to yell at them again when the reporter came on.

"We have some breaking news from Europe. It appears that Seto Kaiba, CEO of Kaiba Corp., married Ryou Bakura sometime last week. Apparently the two have been secretly dating for almost two years…"

The report was drowned out by Joey's growls after that. "Can you believe this!" he shouted turning to Yugi and Tea who were sitting at their dining room table.

"Yeah," Tea said, holding up the letter and pictures they had been looking at. "This came in the mail today."

Joey and Tristan came over, looking over their friends' shoulders. The first picture was of Ryou in a simple white dress, smiling at the camera. The second picture was of Seto scowling at Mokuba as he messed with his hair. The third was of Seto and Ryou kissing, Mokuba in the background cheering. The rest of the pictures were of Ryou, Mokuba, and Seto wondering around Rome, some of them featuring a girl being dragged away by Seto's bodyguards, or Seto scaring off a man who tried to hit on Ryou.

"They look happy, don't they?" Tea sighed dreamily.

"What..? I don't…Argh!" Joey sputtered, the other three rolling their eyes at his outburst.

"See, this is why we didn't tell you right away," Yugi commented as Tea flipped to the last picture: Ryou sitting curled up in Seto's lap.

"Besides, what does it matter if this is what she wants?" Tea asked, moving to get up.

"What do you need?" Yugi asked, jumping up.

Tea shook her head. "Yugi, I'm pregnant, not dying."

"But!"

Tea shook her head, cutting him off. She knew there was no arguing with her husband when he got like this. "Lemonade, please."

Yugi nodded and moved into the kitchen. Tea turned her attention back to Joey, waiting for him to answer. "If she's happy, but why does she have to be happy with him?"

"Because she loves him."

Joey accepted it reluctantly. He had always been protective of Ryou, and his rivalry with Seto didn't help the matter. But, no matter how much he didn't like Seto, he wouldn't stand in the way of Ryou happiness.

Just as peace began to settle, the reporter's voice was heard again. "There are reports that Ryou might be pregnant…"

"What! That bastard!" Joey shouted, turning quickly to glare at the TV, accidently knocking Yugi over, causing him to spill Tea's lemonade.

Tea's reaction was the exact opposite of Joey's. "Yugi!" she shouted happily. "Wouldn't that be wonderful? Our children would be the same age!"

"No!" Joey shouted. "It would not be wonderful!"

"Joey!" Tea shouted back in exasperation. "They're married! What do you think they're doing at night?"

"Not that! Not to Ryou!"

Yugi came back in, shaking his head as he placed another glass of lemonade in front of Tea which went ignored. "So," he said, turning to Tristan as Tea and Joey continued their shouting match, "how are things going with Serenity and the twins?"

/

I'm not too sure how much I like this ending, but I think it's sort of appropriate. Anyways, let me know what you think about it. There's a poll up for who my next one shot will feature (stories already on my profile list don't count toward it) so if you want to see another one go vote!

The next chapter for Completion is almost done, and should be up in a few days, after I finish my finals. Almost done!


End file.
